How to raise soft-shelled turtles

As a traditional nourishing food, soft-shelled turtle has always enjoyed a high status in people's hearts. It not only has delicious meat and tender taste, but is also highly praised for its rich nutritional value. With the growing market demand for soft-shelled turtles, artificial breeding of soft-shelled turtles has developed into a large-scale industry in many regions. However, turtle farming also involves certain risks. If the details of the farming process are not managed properly, serious economic losses may result. Let’s learn how to raise soft-shelled turtles.

1. Pond selection and preparation

Choose a pond that is far away from pollution sources and has a clean environment, and thoroughly disinfect it before breeding. Make sure the pond has enough sunny areas for the turtles to bask. Build a fence about one meter high to prevent the turtle from escaping.

2. Selection and adaptation of soft-shell turtle fry

Choose healthy and lively soft-shelled turtle fry, which can come from factory-based breeding or professional breeders. Before formal breeding, a 15-day graded temporary breeding is carried out to help the turtles adapt to the new environment.

3. Bait selection and feeding

Soft-shelled turtles prefer meat, so you can use natural baits such as livestock and poultry offal, and add an appropriate amount of plant bait to ensure a balanced nutrition. Adjust the type of bait and feeding amount according to the growth stage and seasonal changes of the turtle.

4. Control of breeding environment

Soft-shell turtles are cold-blooded animals , and their feeding behavior is affected by water temperature. The suitable water temperature for breeding is 20-30℃, and the water temperature should be avoided to be too high or too low. Change the pond water regularly to keep the water clean, replace about one-third of the water every three days, and disinfect the pond regularly.

5. Matters needing attention in breeding management

Quiet environment: Choose a remote, sparsely populated and quiet place to raise soft-shelled turtles to avoid external stimuli that affect their eating efficiency.

Adequate light: Make sure the turtle can enjoy enough sunlight to promote its healthy growth.

Regular disinfection: Since soft-shell turtles have weak resistance to pathogens, the breeding ponds need to be disinfected regularly to prevent the occurrence of diseases.

Water source replacement: Keep the water fresh and maintain the water quality by introducing running water or changing the water source regularly.

Stocking density: Reasonably control the stocking density to avoid fighting among turtles and disease infection due to excessive density.

In short, through refined management and scientific breeding, we can effectively reduce the risks of soft-shelled turtle farming, increase the success rate of farming, and meet the market demand for high-quality soft-shelled turtles.